Abusive thug convinced Wakefield ex he had changed, then threatened to kill her
He called her 614 times in less than two weeks despite blocking his number
A thug with a violent past convinced his partner he had changed, before reverting to type and making threats to kill her.
Sam Shaw even tried to persuade the woman to withdraw a restraining order put in place to keep her safe from him.
But when that failed, he became angry and said he would organise to “get someone” to come to her home. It came just weeks after he was released from prison for attacking her.
He called her 614 times in 13 days - an average of 47 unwanted calls a day, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The pair were in a relationship and it was initially described as “good”, prosecutor Jessica Lister said.
But the woman said Shaw’s drinking “became a problem”.
He was abusive towards her, starting off with pushes and slaps, but this escalated to punching.
The 31-year-old was eventually jailed for strangling her and the restraining order put in place. This made it a criminal offence if he contacted her.
But Shaw wormed his way back into her life, telling her he had changed and was remorseful.
Ms Lister said Shaw was saying “all the right things” and his ex partner agreed to speak with him, convincing her he was not the same man.
This led to daily contact, but after she declined to apply to remove the restraining order, Shaw returned to his old ways.
The woman blocked his number which made him furious, and he threatened to “cut off his tag” and come to her home.
He told her: “I will kill you if you don’t unblock me.”
Shaw, who previously lived in the Pontefract area but is now of no fixed address, was then re-arrested.
In a victim impact statement, read to the court by Ms Lister, the woman said she is now a “shadow of her former self” and has been forced to re-live the trauma of the last five years.
Shaw, who appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds, admitted making threats to kill, threats to destroy property and breach of his restraining order.
He has seven previous convictions for 12 offences, including ABH, strangulation, drugs, battery and robbery.
Mitigating, Lily Wildman said Shaw’s guilty pleas was his best point.
She added: “He wants to apologise profusely to the harm he has caused. He hold his hands up and takes full responsibility.
“Clearly he knows that these offences will result in a further period of imprisonment for him. He accepts that.”
Judge Neil Clark gave him a new two-year jail sentence and told him the restraining order will remain in place.